Prince Richard Kroshbon
Richard Kroshbon of Austria (Richard Shipbreaker Kroshbon; 3 August 1709) is the Prince-Consort of Austria, and Count of Valais. He was formerly Prince of Geneva and heir presumptive to the Swiss throne. He is also the younger brother of the current reigning King, Alexander, and son of the former King William II. Alongside his royal titles, he also served as both Acting Minister of Defense and Minister of Interior in the Swiss Cabinet. In a way, he had been seen as a sort of Deputy Prime Minister, and has, in the later months of 1750, seemingly taken over many of the responsibilities given to the Prime Minister, in light of the illness and weakened state of Lord Jozef Kohleschmied. In February of 1735, he would be wed to the Empress of Austria, Maria Theresa Clemente, and would become Prince-Consort of Austria. Despite his marriage, he remained in Switzerland for the next 15 years, taking little interest in his wife or daughter. Upon his brother's prompting, he would return to Vienna in 1751, and by 1754 would seize power in a palace coup against his wife. Early Life Richard Kroshbon was born the 3rd of August 1709, as the first child of Lord William Kroshbon and his newly-wed wife, Lady Elisabeth Seawinds-Raidfox. At this time of his birth, he was the fourth son of Lord Kroshbon, and was brought up to serve a military position. His father was the Head of the House of Kroshbon, a very influential noble house that had roots in Italy, and had previously held power in Britain. His mother, Elisabeth, was the sister of esteemed British general and lord, John Raidfox, which allowed his father a prominent ally. In 1731, at the age of twenty-two, he accompanied his father and uncle, Rayne, to the Swiss Kanton of Bern, and was present when the lords of Bern bent the knee to Ryan I of Switzerland, and subsequently remained in Bern while his father and uncle conquered the remaining Kantons through both diplomacy and war. Richard was created a Prince of Switzerland upon his uncle's acension to the throne, and would grow to become a noted swordfighter and fencer. He attended the University of Zurich at the behest of his father, and graduated in 1735. He served alongside his father in multiple campaigns over the years, and became a feared fighter. Prince of Switzerland Reign of King David After his father's death, and under the reign of King David, Richard received the title of Lord, and lived at the ancestral Kroshbon family seat of Hassig, as according to his father's will. He inherited a large fortune, and spent his time following the death of his father, both perfecting the art of fencing, as well as managing the Kroshbon Banking and Trade Institution, his grandfather's company. He was nominally appointed to the former position of Sir Blau Wolfe, as Minister of Home, though in practice was not apart of the nation's leadership apparatus. He did not come to prominence until David had been ousted by Lord Christopher Ironshot and Richard's half brother, Alexander. He was summoned to Koniz Castle in late 1748, a year after Alexander had taken the throne for himself, where he was appointed Prince of Geneva and the Crown Prince of Switzerland. Acting Premiership For more than a year, Richard played little more than a minor role in Swiss governance, and was mostly left to continue what he had been doing since 1746. However, in early 1750, prior to the Second Annual Elections, King Alexander issued a decree which handed much authority and power to the Prince of Geneva, to the point where it was considered a sort of minister-without-portfolio and held a position on the Cabinet. Richard was involved in Lord Jon Kroshbon's cabinet for several months and would ultimately go on to become the second most influential official in Switzerland at Jon's resignation, only after Prince Samuel Clemente, the Minister of State and de facto Prime Minister. With Prince Samuel's betrayal of Switzerland and the sparking of the June Crisis, Richard became the de facto Prime Minister and second in command of the Swiss Government, after King Alexander. He was a driving force behind the reestablishment of the Armed Guard. He would later go on to select the new Crown Officers alongside King Alexander in the Cabinet Reshuffle of August 1750. He would stand in for the King as Prince-Regent several times for the King in the Fall of 1750, serving the realm to the best of his ability. He would eventually be sidelined from the succession in 1750, when Prince Ryan Kroshbon, the son of Ryan I of Switzerland was created the Prince of Geneva by King Alexander. Richard was made the Count of Valais following his replacement. Rule in Austria Return to Auistria In December of 1750, his brother King Alexander abrubtly removed Richard from the line of succession and named their nephew, Prince Ryan Kroshbon as Prince of Geneva. This led to Richard returning to Austria for the first time in 15 years. Though many argued his departure from Switzerland was due to a falling out with his brother over being removed from the line of succession, it is generally believed that he returned to Austria on orders from his brother, who he was very loyal to. Upon his arrival in Vienna, he took up residence at the Palais Augarten, where he began a quiet but effective charm offensive, meeting over the next two years with the most powerful nobles of the Holy Roman Empire. While Prince Ezequiel Clemente, the Spanish Crown Prince, effectively held the Empress hostage at Schönbrunn and reviewed all matters of state personally before it was brought to the Queen. Many of the HRE Counts saw the blatant Spanish occupation of Austria as a foreign invasion, and looked to the Swiss diplomats as their kin. This allowed Richard to make prominent friends, and gain a large portion of the Imperial Diet under the influence of the House of Kroshbon. Two and a half years after returning to Vienna, in 1753, Prince Richard departed the city and rode for Regensburg, where the Imperial Diet sat. While there, he convinced 5/6 of the Diet that the Empire's legitimacy had been severely weakened by the Spanish occupation of Vienna from 1750-1752 and that a central governing body was the solution to this crisis. He promised to resolve the issue in the next months, with the support of the Imperial Princes. Seizure of Power In March 1754, after returning from Regensburg and Berne, Prince Richard initiated a bloodless palace coup against his wife, seizing the Hofberg and decreeing a new centralized government there. He did not declare himself Holy Roman Emperor, as he knew he lacked the support and legitimacy to do so, and instead named himself Chancellor of Austria and Minister of War. He named his daughter, Princess Cara Kroshbon as Foreign Minister and his cousin Lord Wolf Kroshbon as Interior Minister. As Prince Richard and Lord Wolf were disinterested in politics, Princess Cara was the most influential of this new Council, and served as liason with the Swiss. This in turn led Austria to be a de facto client state of Switzerland through King Alexander. Legacy Prince RIchard was known as an effective warrior, and served as his father's aide-de-camp on several instances. Although he was respected heavily, he like his elder brother Prince Benjamin Kroshbon lacked political intuition. What he lacked in political skills he made up for in loyalty however, to his elder brother King Alexander. Considered the King's most trusted lieutenant for the first three years of Alexander's reign, Richard served his brother and his House faithfully for years, including after seizing power in Austria. The Prince was not known to be a faithful husband nor a present father. He did not see his wife for fifteen years, nor took very much interest in his daughter, and was known to have many mistresses in both Berne and Geneva. Nevertheless, he is remembered as a man forced into the political sphere because of his last name, who would have been happier serving as a general than having to adjust to court life in Austria. Titles, Styles, Honors, and Arms Titles and Styles *3 August 1723 - 13 April 1731: Mr. Richard Shipbreaker Kroshbon *13 April 1731 - 17 August 1746: His Highness, Prince Richard Kroshbon *17 August 1746 - 3 December 1748: Lord Richard Kroshbon *3 December 1748 - 27 December 1750: His Royal Highness, the Prince of Geneva *27 December 1750 - present: His Imperial Highness, Prince Richard of Austria Richard used the official style of "Richard the First, By the Grace of God, Prince of Geneva and Lord of Pripyat. Heir to the Throne of Switzerland, Venice, Genoa, and Lucca" as crown prince. He would later be styled, "Prince Richard Kroshbon of Austria" after being replaced in 1750. He used the short style of "Your Highness", as all other members of the Royal family, besides the King and Crown Prince. Honors and Arms *Member of the Order of St. Nicholas of Flue *Knighted by King Matthew II Kroshbonhouse.jpg|The permanent arms of the House of Kroshbon KroshbonSigil.gif|The personal arms of King Alexander and King William. Category:Switzerland Category:People